The Second Battle
Sir Ian Hamilton ordered two Anzac brigades-one Australian, one New Zealand-to Helles to assist British and French forces with a new assault on Krithia. The second battle for Krithia began on 6 May with a daring daylight frontal attack by the allies. Major General Aylmer Hunter-Weston commanded the attack. Turkish positions had not been mapped out; ammunition remained inadequate; planning was flawed. The attacks continued over three days. Nearly a third of all allied troops were killed or wounded. The Turkish forces were pushed back barely half-a-kilometre, albeit on a wide front.
Schuler's despatch on the second battle of Krithia is a dramatic and at times highly inaccurate account of the battle. But free from the strictures of frontline censorship, the correspondent was able to communicate some depressing visions of the loss of life incurred during the battle. A comparison can be made with Charles Bean's official account of the same battle. Bean was noted for his accuracy but the restraints of censorship precluded detailing the full extent of the losses.


